Bhopal Gas Tragedy Document

Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) was
a chemical company founded in 1934. UCIL

employed 9,000 people.[1][2] UCIL was 50.9%
owned by Union Carbide and Carbon
Corporation (UCC) located in the United States
and 49.1% by Indian investors including
the Government of India and government-
controlled banks.[3] UCIL produced batteries,
carbon products, welding equipment, plastics,
industrial chemicals, pesticides and marine
products. A UCIL facility located
in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh was responsible for
manufacturing various chemical products this
primarily included pesticides.[4] In 1984, a gas
leak happened at the UCIL plant in Bhopal,
killing thousands of people, and harming
victims by causing chronic illness.[4] At the
time of the disaster, UCIL was ranked twenty-
first in size among companies operating in
India. It had revenues of ₹2 billion (then
equivalent to US$170 million)..
The formation of the pesticides and herbicides that

were produced by Union Carbide was
from carbaryl which is used as a base chemical in
order to react with methyl isocyanate and alpha
naphthol.[4] In 1970, there was an issue with the
methyl isocyanate unit being built (MIC) in Bhopal.
The issues was due to the location of the unit which
was nearby a railroad station and a heavily populated
area. However, this did not stop the UCIL from
moving forward with their plan even though it meant
violating the 1975 Bhopal Development plan.[4]
This was not the only violation pertaining to safety

precautions the UCIL had taken. The way in which
the company went about hiring people included hiring
under-qualified candidates and providing them with
no training.[4] This job not only involved working with
hazardous chemicals but also with various
technological systems and machinery.[4] Hiring those
who were not qualified and providing no training
meant the UCIL could under pay their employees.
From the book Angry Earth: Disaster in
Anthropological Perspective an excerpt titled; Bhopal
Vulnerability, Routinization and Chronic Disaster that
was written by S. Ravi Rajan focuses on the factors
and aftermaths of the tragedy.[4] Rajan claims the
reason the UCIL did not take the necessary safety
precautions was to prevent workers from mobilizing.
[4] If workers did mobilize this could lead to them
gaining political support. This would force the
company to hold themselves accountable for the
inhumane working conditions. This provides evidence
of the abuse UCIL employees were subjected to due
to their corporate culture prioritizing
their shareholders over peoples lives.
A case was filed against the company which

consisted of multiple players and negotiations. The
Indian government also filed a lawsuit right after the
parentis-partial act passed.[4] This act gave the
victims of this tragedy representation. During the
multiple lawsuits the company continued to deny any
responsibility for the gas leak. Instead UCIL actively
distanced themselves from the tragedy. For example,
they hired a younger leader for the company who had
no prior association to the gas leak.[4] The company
wanted to put the accident behind them and continue
gaining profits. UCIL acted strategically after the gas
leak by taking steps including purchasing stocks, and
bond retirements.[4] This led the mobilization of
various victims which started the development of
different activist organizations. Bhopal registered a
claim of $10 billion, based on United States injustice
claim standards. The lawsuit led to the Indian
government gaining $3.3 billion. However, the final
settlement came to $470 million.[4] In 1994, UCC sold
its entire stake in UCIL to Mcleod Russel India
Limited of Calcutta, which renamed the
company Eveready Industries India Limited. The
proceeds from the UCIL sale (US$90 million) were
placed in a trust to fund a hospital in Bhopal to care
for victims of the tragedy.
Dangerous impacts of the Bhopal disaster
Protest in Bhopal, India, 2010

The Bhopal gas leak happened in between the nights
of December 2 and 3, 1984 due to Union Carbide
limited negligence and corporate culture.[4] This gas
leak killed thousands of people. Those who did
survive were victims of a chronic cancer and other
health related impairments.[4] Rajan states since the
tragedy has taken place it has partially become
invisible to almost everyone including the survivors.
[4] UCIL refused to take responsibility, continued to
distance themselves from the tragedy and provided
no support in rehabilitation efforts to the victims .
UCL-PRODUCTION Process and Chemicals used:
UCIL used to manufacture three different kinds of

pesticides: Carbaryl (trade name sevin), aldicarb
(trade name temik), and a formulation of carbaryl and
gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH) sold under
the trade name sevidol. Carbaryl and aldicarb fall
under carbamate group of insecticides. For
manufacturing sevidol, γ-HCH was extracted from the
technical grade HCH, which is a mix of several
isomers of HCH (mainly α, β, γ and δ−HCH). UCIL used
to buy technical grade HCH, extract γ-HCH and throw
the remaining isomers as waste within the factory
and outside in the waste dump site (also called by
UCIL as solar evaporation pond). HCH and its isomers
are highly persistent and toxic organochlorine
pesticides. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is an impurity
in the technical grade HCH and was also produced as
a byproduct of various chemical processes in the
UCIL factory. Chlorinated benzene compounds were
either used by UCIL as solvents or are degradation
products of HCH or HCB. For instance, 1,2
dichlorobenzene or ortho-dichlorobenzene was used
as solvent for producing alpha-naphthol – a chemical
used in the production of sevin, the main product of
UCIL. Chlorinated benzene compounds are used as
insecticides and fungicides. Mercury was used as a
sealant in the sevin plant and chromium was used as
a coolant in the cooling plant at the UCIL.
SUMMARY OF STUDIES CONDUCTED SO FAR;
1. NEERI-NGRI, 2010-
Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh granted
this joint study to NEERI-NGRI to assess
contamination and delineate suitable remediation
strategies in and around UCIL site. It involved a
reconnaissance survey of the UCIL site, geophysical
and hydrogeological investigation, sampling and
analysis of soil and groundwater in and around the
UCIL. The survey found broken boundary walls at
many places and dilapidated plant, machineries and
buildings. Several dumps were present. SEP and an
abandoned landfill was found damaged. The study
also noted that the excavation of dumps done earlier
by M/s. Ramky Limited was incomplete. Three out of
the nine suspected dump sites were assessed for
contamination. The depth of soil contamination was
estimated to be upto two metres at most places. Key
contaminants found in the soil include cabaryl,
aldicarb, HCH isomers and alpha naphthol and heavy
metals such as mercury, lead and chromium. Apart
from isolated contamination in five wells in the
downstream area outside the UCIL, no contaminants
were found in the groundwater. Presence of the
contaminants was attributed to surface runoff from
the dumps. Presence of very low permeability due to
black and yellow silty clay in the locality was quoted
as a reason for absence of ground water
contamination caused by seepage. Suggested long-
term remedial measures include on-site secured
landfill of about 1.1 million tonnes of soil and
remediation of groundwater by ‘pump and treat’
method. Certain immediate measures include
securing the site and SEP; decontaminating and
decommissioning of plant, machinery and structure
before remediation; excavation and recovery of
dumps and incineration of the incinerable; sealing of
the five contaminated wells.
2. CSE AND CPCB, 2009-

In a joint study, conducted in Oct 2009,
Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi based
non-government organisation, alongwith CPCB, tested
soil and groundwater samples from in and around
UCIL site. Soil samples were collected together by
both the institutions, while groundwater samples
were sourced separately at different times. The
samples were tested in respective laboratories. The
findings of both studies were broadly in agreement
for soil samples. Organic contaminants including
carbaryl, aldicarb, HCH isomers and chlorinated
benzenes and heavy metals such as mercury, lead
and chromium were found in most of the soil samples
tested. Both studies found contamination in
groundwater too. Organic contaminants such as
chlorinated benzenes and HCH isomers were
detected. Among heavy metals, CSE found mercury,
cadmium and lead while zinc, manganese and copper
were detected by CPCB.
Soil Contamination:
Soil contamination at UCIL Soil inside the
UCIL site was found contaminated in all the studies.
The nature of chemicals found in soil samples in most
studies was similar. For instance, organic
contaminants such as carbaryl, aldicarb, HCH
isomers, chlorinated benzenes and alpha naphthol
were found in soil samples in most of the studies.
Similarly, heavy metals such as mercury, lead and
chromium were also commonly found (see Table 1:
Key contaminants found in soil at UCIL). Several
places inside the UCIL site were found heavily
contaminated with multiple organics and heavy
metals. For instance, in several studies, either
neutralisation pits or disposal area II have been found
to have most of the contaminants tested for.
Similarly, sevin plant and formulation plant were also
found contaminated with a number of organics and
heavy metals in multiple studies (see Figure 1: Places
at UCIL: Contaminants tested and found in soil
End

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Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) was

a chemical company founded in 1934. UCIL

The formation of the pesticides and herbicides that

This was not the only violation pertaining to safety

A case was filed against the company which

Dangerous impacts of the Bhopal disaster

Protest in Bhopal, India, 2010

UCIL used to manufacture three different kinds of

SUMMARY OF STUDIES CONDUCTED SO FAR;

2. CSE AND CPCB, 2009-

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